Jeremy Waldron on Civility and Formality (Waldron論Civility and Formalty)

「Civility, I want to maintain, has an important relation to this kind of formality. Civility my not be formality, but it involves a willingness to respect the formalities of an interaction and to submit one’s feelings to wards the person you are dealing with- whether they are warm feelings, hostile feelings, or feelings of indifference- to one side, at least in the sense of subordinating them to the rules prescribed for the interaction. The rules provide a basis for coordination and mutual trust, for the pace and order of interaction, and for mutual assurance that the deal will go through as all the steps are taken.」 (p. 7)